Kaballa Sylvestre (c.1920) "oiseaux et poisson".Acrylique on canvas, signed

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Pieter Plas placed himself with this pastoral scene in the tradition of the 17th-century painters and draughtsmen such as Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem, Karel du Jardin, Marcus de Bye an...

Around the middle of the 19th century, the missionary Thomas Savage and the anatomist Jeffries Wyman, described a new animal species – the Troglodytes Gorilla – in their article for ...

Hunting played an essential role in the lives of princes and nobles for centuries. It was no different in the 17th century. Paintings depicting hunting scenes were hung, for example, in the hunting lodges of elites. It should be noted that the upper bourgeoisie also began to show interest in painted hunting scenes during the 17th century. In the Southern Netherlands there were a number of skilled animal painters who produced hunting scenes, including Frans Snijders, Paul De Vos, Jan Roos, Pieter Boel and Jan Fyt. Snijders knew how to render the anatomy of the animals masterfully. Also, he managed to make his animals look intelligent. He let them express a variety of feelings. His colleague, Paul De Vos, seems to have been less familiar with animal anatomy. His animals lack a kind of individuality and psychological expression. The panel shows a boar hunt with dogs. It was a prevalent theme, portrayed by Rubens, Snijders, De Vos and others. Buyers were especially interested in the showdown between animal species. The mental and physical strength appealed to their imagination. The painter of this little work has no solid knowledge of dog breeds. Due to a lack of insight into dogs' bone and muscle structure, he makes them look rather stiff. Mainly the heads have something naïve about them. It cannot be ruled out that the artist of this painting is Jan van Kessel...

From the 16th to 19th C the production of decorative arts continued to flourish with the introduction of both rococo and baroque elements signaling an increasingly open attitude to a...